How to effectively use that Big Boar brush?

Luc · Aug 4, 2015

I recently bought a new Omega 10098 boar brush. The knot is a bit bigger than what I use normally (between 20-24mm) and the loft is higher than that I normally use (48mm-54mm). I had a go with it this morning but just picking up the lather from the bowl was a storm by itself. The painting part was good as I was able to create a lot of lather quickly.

I will try with a shave stick tomorrow to see if it's less messy. Any tricks on how to use the bigger brush?

Mike H · Aug 4, 2015

When using a shave stick and larger board, I had the best luck building lather on my neck and painting it up

mrlandpirate · Aug 4, 2015

being new it will take some time to break in and get softer,then it will be less likely to be messy. They also hold alot of water so I shake mine out good.

Rory1262 · Aug 4, 2015

I will on occasion use my Omega 48 to face-lather.
The tip is to put the base of the handle in your palm, and then your fingertips hold the base of the knot.

franz · Aug 4, 2015

I haven't used that brush, Luc, but my SOC boar has a lot of splay to it, sometimes making the knot feel a little out of control. Usually I use it only for head lathering for this reason. Is that what you're seeing with yours or is it something else?

I doubt the Omega will change that much with break-in, but it's possible.

Not sure if the handle will allow you to do this, but you could try pinching the base of the knot with your fingertips to give it a little more focus.

Luc · Aug 4, 2015

The brush works fairly well. I own another Omega and the performance is similar. The fact that the brush is huge makes it a bit more difficult to keep the lather inside the brush. Instead, it goes flying all over the place.

I will try face lather tomorrow morning and see how I go. I will try from the bottom of the neck and going up. I mainly bought that brush for the shape of the handle and not the knot size. I never owned a knot that big before.

SteveWY · Aug 4, 2015

I am really glad to see this topic and will be following the thread for tips. I have always been a small-medium size brush guy. Knots 20-22mm, loft 45-50+ usually. In recent months I was gifted a Proraso/Omega which I think is the 48 or 49 (silver handle) and I bought a huge special edition Omega Italian flag brush. I'm actually enjoying the big brush treatment when I use them. There are almost too big for loading the brush with some containers but I am adapting. I do like the "one-stroke" face coverage though!

shavegent · Aug 4, 2015

With my Omega 48, I shake most of the water out and get a heavy paste-like soap load on the brush. After applying to the face, I begin adding water back to the brush. That's what keeps the mess / flying soap down to no issue at all for me.

Musikmann · Aug 4, 2015

I have a 10049 and I haven't mastered that yet. Dry, it's stiff as a boar(d). Wet, it's way too floppy. I'll be watching this thread because the advice given should work for both yours and mine. Both knots are 27/65.

Luc · Aug 4, 2015

Do you shake off any excess water or you also squeeze out some water?

Musikmann · Aug 4, 2015

Luc said:
Do you shake off any excess water or you also squeeze out some water?

I only shook mine but next time I'll try a squeeze. It could well be it was too wet.

AbbyW2 · Aug 4, 2015

I have a Chubby 3 which is pretty darned big. I find it too big to really work well in my G20 scuttle. So I switched to a Rooney Heritage Victorian, which has a long handle and works better for me.

I don't really get what you mean by " just picking up the lather from the bowl was a storm by itself."

Luc · Aug 4, 2015

AbbyW2 said:
I have a Chubby 3 which is pretty darned big. I find it too big to really work well in my G20 scuttle. So I switched to a Rooney Heritage Victorian, which has a long handle and works better for me.

I don't really get what you mean by " just picking up the lather from the bowl was a storm by itself."

What I mean was that I loaded the product directly on the puck. The puck is so small versus the brush. The product started flying left and right causing something similar to a snow storm.

celestino · Aug 4, 2015

Luc, I believe you'll have better luck face-lathering. Shake off any excess water before you start face-lathering after using the shave-stick; then, add water little by little using lighter pressure than with your smaller brushes, then finish off with light paint-brush strokes. Use a lighter touch with the brush.
Good luck and have fun. :001_smile

tankerjohn · Aug 4, 2015

A few tips from a Pro 48 lover:

- search for "Italian barber" in youtube and watch how they handle big boar brushes. You will notice most don't hold the handle, they pinch the knot. That might be hard to do with a 98 than a 48. Pinching the knot effectively reduces the loft, making the knot much easier to handle, and prevents flinging lather all over the place.

- when building lather on your face, use light pressure on the tips while swirling so that the knot doesn't splay out too far and get lather everywhere. You can use a little more pressure on your neck, where you've got the real estate to "let 'er rip", so to speak.

- when painting on the lather, by pinching the knot the barber way, you can vary the pressure to fan it out for going under your nose and ears, thereby minimizing getting lather in your ears, nose, and other places you don't want it, while making nice wide painting strokes around the rest of your face.

Icebear · Aug 4, 2015

Use a higher walled scuttle or bowl and not the original soap container to wip up the lather.
In general: Go slower, nice and easy does it all the time :wink2:

rockviper · Aug 4, 2015

I face lather with the Omega 48, Luc. I start with a twice-flicked dry bush (good solid flicks, equating to a medium squeeze I guess) and add dribbles of water as I go along. With such a large know and high loft, I manly use circles to build lather and only lightly paintbrush at the end. Too much pressure on the paintbrush strokes will send lather flying due to the high loft.

jankdc · Aug 4, 2015

Another tip I have is that when I have the brush loaded, I run the side of the brush against the bowl/soap container and scrape lather off of the outside of the brush.

jankdc · Aug 4, 2015

tankerjohn said:
A few tips from a Pro 48 lover:

- search for "Italian barber" in youtube and watch how they handle big boar brushes. You will notice most don't hold the handle, they pinch the knot. That might be hard to do with a 98 than a 48. Pinching the knot effectively reduces the loft, making the knot much easier to handle, and prevents flinging lather all over the place.

- when building lather on your face, use light pressure on the tips while swirling so that the knot doesn't splay out too far and get lather everywhere. You can use a little more pressure on your neck, where you've got the real estate to "let 'er rip", so to speak.

- when painting on the lather, by pinching the knot the barber way, you can vary the pressure to fan it out for going under your nose and ears, thereby minimizing getting lather in your ears, nose, and other places you don't want it, while making nice wide painting strokes around the rest of your face.

Thanks for pointing those videos out. Excellent resources.

Luc · Aug 5, 2015

Lather was much better this morning with a shave stick and shaking the water out. The only downside, I needed more water to build proper lather. A lot of water.

Tomorrow, I will try Marco's method and see if that works better as I believe more water will stay in. It's probably a matter of knowing what that knot retains.

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How to effectively use that Big Boar brush?

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".

Mike H

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mrlandpirate

Got lucky with dead badgers

Rory1262

franz

Luc

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SteveWY

shavegent

Musikmann

Luc

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Musikmann

AbbyW2

Luc

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celestino

tankerjohn

A little poofier than I prefer

Icebear

rockviper

I got moves like Jagger

jankdc

jankdc

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".

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